Saúl Álvarez vs. Amir Khan
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| Date | May 7, 2016 | |
| Location | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States | |
| Title(s) on the line | WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles | |
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 Saúl Álvarez vs.  Amir Khan |
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| "Canelo" | "King" | |
| Tale of the tape | ||
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| Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | From | Bolton, England, UK |
| 46–1–1 (32 KO) | Pre-fight record | 31–3–0 (19 KO) |
| 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Height | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 452: attempt to index field 'titles' (a nil value). |
| WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion | Recognition | WBC Silver welterweight champion |
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| Result | Álvarez wins by knockout in round 6 | |
Saúl Álvarez vs. Amir Khan, billed as Power vs. Speed and also known as Canelo vs. Khan or by the portmanteau Khanelo, was a professional boxing fight which took place on Saturday, May 7, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the WBC, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles.[1][2] It was the first major sporting event at the new T-Mobile Arena.[3]
The fight was Saúl Álvarez's first defense as the WBC, Ring and lineal middleweight champion, and Amir Khan's first fight at middleweight after moving up two weight divisions from welterweight. A catchweight of 155 lb is in effect, at which Álvarez has fought for his last four fights. Canelo Alvarez defeated Amir Khan via Knockout at 2:37 of round 6 to retain his WBC middleweight title.
Contents
Broadcast
The bout was on HBO PPV in the US,[4][5] and on BoxNation in the UK.[6] It was also shown by Fathom Events at nearly 200 select movie theaters across the United States.[7] In Mexico and Latin America transmission fight was for the Space channel.[8]
The Fight
Round by Round
Round 1[9]
Khan tossed out a few jabs early to get things going but they fall short. A hard right cross to the head snaped Canelo’s head back, but he seemed to have taken it well. A nice right to the ribs by the Canelo but Khan came right back with a flurry of jabs and right to the head. Canelo missed with a monstrous right hook but Khan was out of position to counter him. Amir walked into a short left hook just as his left missed but he didn't seem hurt. A Canelo left hook was blocked with a minute left. Khan opened up with a three-punch flurry to the noggin but Saul blocked them all. Khan’s speed was definitely a factor at this juncture.
Round 2
Canelo stormed out of his corner but missed with a sweeping left-right upstairs. A huge left hook missed by Canelo again caused him to stumble Khan countered him with a quick shot to the puss but there was nothing behind it. Canelo was more aggressive, walking after his elusive foe and digs to the body. They missed a wild exchange in the center of the ring before settling in with jabs. Khan popped him with a right-left up top but Saul walked right through it. Khan lobed out four jabs to the head and body. With 10 seconds left, Canelo swallowed a slick left-right, giving Khan the round.
Round 3
Khan remained very mobile, forcing Canelo to lunge in and miss his shots early. Khan got hit with a short left, but he took it well. A hard left-right followed by a pair of jabs from Khan, who then landed a sweeping left hook to the head. Canelo was not getting hurt by the shots but the speed was shown to giving him issues. Khan remained just out of reach of another wicked left hook from the Canelo. A multi-punch flurry to the face for Khan again, but Canelo continued to walk through the attacks. A hard right to the body for Canelo, but he quickly countered upstairs by a laser of a right and then a short left.
Round 4
A nice tattoo of a right to the face by Khan caught Canelo off-guard and he clinched. In the grip, he slammed a left to the ribs, making Khan back off. Canelo ate another right but he fired right back with a thud of a right to the gut. A triple jab snapped the Mexican’s head back at the midway point. Canelo missed a sloppy right and was then cracked by a beautiful overhand left. Again, he seemed to be not bothered by it. Khan missed a massive right-left to the head as Canelo turned with both shots. There was some swelling around Canelo’s right eye late in the round. Canelo slammed another right to the body late but it was another round for Khan.
Round 5
A nice short left to the head early from Canelo but Khan shook it off. Khan was moving exceptionally well, making Canelo chase after him. Canelo landed a nice right to the body but he’s quickly countered by a left up top. Khan popped him with a few jabs after taking a shot to the ribs a minute in. Canelo caught him with a loopy right but Khan partially blocked it against the ropes. Khan landed a jab and then ducked under a left hook, but he was out of position to nail him in return. A three-punch combo downstairs by the Mexican but he misses his shots during an exchange at the bell. This was the closest round.
Round 6
Both fighter took turns missing meager jabs early before Khan popped him with an errant left hook to the ear. Canelo returned the fire with a right to the hip. A nice jab Khan but Canelo stormed back with a hard left hook to the face. Khan backed off and seemed a little dazed, looking to recover. Khan flicked out a series of jabs but Canelo ripped two shots to the belly. At this point it was Khan who is swallowing jabs. Canelo had seized control of the bout. Khan came in with a lazy left jab but Canelo detonated a bomb of an overhand right and Khan was out cold on his way down. His head bounced off the canvas and referee Bayless didn't bother to count. An absolutely brutal knockout, which could be the best of the entire year.
Analysis
Alvarez was surprisingly ahead on two scorecards, 49-46 and 48-47. Khan was ahead 48-47 on the third scorecard. ESPN.com had Khan ahead 48-47.[10]
| Punch Stats[10] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Punches | Alvarez | Khan |
| Landed | 64 | 48 |
| Thrown | 170 | 166 |
| Percent | 38% | 29% |
Reception
The fight generated a live gate of $7,417,350, according to figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That total came from 13,072 tickets sold, far short of a sellout. The gross places it 34th-best in Nevada history. It is sandwiched between the $7,486,400 live gate of the Felix Trinidad-Fernando Vargas junior middleweight championship fight in 2000 and Trinidad's junior middleweight title victory against David Reid earlier in 2000, which grossed $7,329,500.[11]
Fight card
The fight card will include the following fights:[7][12][13]
| Weight class | Weight | vs. | Rounds | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight | 155 lbs. | Saúl Álvarez (c) |
def. | Amir Khan |
RD6 KO |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. |  David Lemieux |
def. |  Glen Tapia |
RD4 TKO |
| Welterweight | 147 lbs. | Frankie Gomez |
def. | Mauricio Herrera |
UD |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Curtis Stevens |
def. |  Patrick Teixeira |
RD2 TKO |
Fight purses
Guaranteed Base Purses[14]
- Saul Alvarez ($3,000,000) vs. Amir Khan ($2,000,000)
- David Lemieux ($200,000) vs. Glen Tapia ($150,000)
- Mauricio Herrera ($175,000) vs. Frankie Gomez ($90,000)
- Curtis Stevens ($65,000) vs. Patrick Teixeira ($50,000)
Press conferences
The fight had international press conferences in three cities:[2]
- February 29, 2016 — Park Plaza Riverbank, London, UK
- March 1, 2016 — Hard Rock Cafe, New York City, New York, US
- March 2, 2016 — Five Towers Stage, Los Angeles, California, US
International broadcasting
References
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- ↑ Khan vs Alvarez, BoxNation
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- ↑ David Lemieux-Glen Tapia co-feature among 3 bouts unveiled, ESPN, 21 March 2016
- ↑ David Lemieux-Glen Tapia, Mauricio Herrera-Frankie Gomez top Canelo-Khan undercard, USA Today, 21 March 2016
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
